Along with the dynamically growing number of smartphone users, the market is constantly developing towards mobile devices. Until recently, the „mobile first” trend has already become a practice widely used on the market, without which current websites cannot function. We use smartphones as a handheld computer with which we can handle a number of current private and business matters, including online shopping, which has now become our everyday life. As the habits of smartphone users change, standards of new technologies are developing. Imagine that your online store loads faster, customers find what they are looking for and the products sold are presented in such a way that the purchase is an intuitive process. At the same time, the conversion rate increases and the bounce rate decreases. All this is possible thanks to progressive web applications for eCommerce (Progressive Web Application – PWA).
Progressive Web Apps – what is that and how it works?
Google has introduced PWA as an alternative to responsive websites and mobile applications. Simply put, PWA is a mobile website, built using the JavaScript frameworks and connectors such as Gatsby.js or Next.js. It gives similar possibilities to native mobile applications downloaded on smartphones. When the online store is loaded, a window appears asking whether to add the store to the start screen, after approval, the application is installed automatically. When you want to open the online store again, all you need to do is click on the icon on the screen. The PWA solution combines the functions of a website and an application, which means that the text is conveniently displayed on smartphone screens, and the use itself is „user friendly„, i.e. simple and pleasant. Importantly, unlike responsive websites, URLs in PWA technology load even when the mobile device is offline. Thanks to this, users can browse the e-shop offer without being connected to the Internet.
It is a fact that the number of applications installed on smartphones is constantly growing. For this reason, PWA applications have been designed to take up as little disk space as possible. For example, the popular Onet.pl application in the PWA version takes 149 kb compared to 24.5 mb in the mobile application for Android.
The impact of PWA on User Experience in eCommerce
In the virtual world, creating a positive user experience is crucial in the functioning of an online store. PWA offers greater convenience for the customer thanks to the instant loading of the content and the possibility to easily complete the purchase form. It is no secret that in the fight to maintain customer interest, seconds count, according to DoubleClick data from Google, as many as 53% of users leave an online store, which takes more than 3 seconds to load. For this reason, in PWA, some data is loaded earlier, while elements that need a longer loading time are omitted. Thanks to this solution, the application opens faster than in the case of a standard web service.
Users appreciate a pleasant shopping experience that quickly pays off with increased sales. According to Google research, PWA increases overall engagement by as much as 137%. PWA also helps in loyalty of users, for example by saving the application on the phone screen, it will always remain at hand. A customer who sees it several times a day preserves the brand and easily associates it, which increases the likelihood of future purchases. Thanks to this, the customer does not have to enter the address of the store in the search engine, just click on the application to easily add products to the basket. Another facilitation is the fact that the application works regardless of the phone’s operating system and there is no need to constantly download the latest updates.
PWA implementation in eCommerce website
PWA is the future for people who run an eCommerce business. At Blue Owl Headless Commerce Agency, we make sure that customers are up to date with the latest trends. For this reason, we are involved in the development of PWA systems for the sales platforms implemented by our team based on the WooCommerce and Shopify platforms.
